Super Metroid or Symphony of the Night?

Poll: Super Metroid or Symphony of the Night? (169 votes)

Super Metroid 44%

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night 56%

I was looking for this poll, but didn't find it so I made it. The question is simple: which do you prefer?

These are two of my favorite games of all time, I know a lot of people agree. I'm currently going through Super Metroid again and having recently gone through SotN again, I think I might prefer SM over it. The reason simply being that SotN has more faults, I.E. the voice acting and weird seemingly unnecessary tricks to fill in the map. I don't actually mind either of those things, but it does point out how much more streamlined SM is. So, what's your pick, if you could only play one?

Super Metroid for the atmosphere alone. But I happen to think it plays fantastic to this day.

Symphony of the Night is of course a classic, but it never really grabbed me the same way as Metroid, I always peter out when I get to the inverted castle, to me the game becomes really boring by that point.

Super Metroid. I prefer the atmosphere and the way Samus moves over the weird swagger that Alucard and the Belmonts seem so keen on. The music in SOTN is amazing though. (and in most Castlevania games for that matter)

SotN. I like the powers and equipment/rpg mechanics better. Personal taste of what I enjoy better too, that style of gothic castlevania vs space and aliens. I like anime, but I hate anime castlevania stuff only because I adore the style present in SotN and castlevanias similar to that. Honestly it feels like a GOTY discussion of trying to break down one amazing game to have another amazing game be "higher", they're both great, but that is my vote if I have to choose one. It might not exist without super metroid, but I don't have to pick the Odyssey as the best gaming console just because we might not have the newer consoles without it.

As someone devoid of nostalgia for both of these I would say SotN holds up way better. It's expansive and deep in a way Metroid isn't. Both are great and Metroid basically invented the genre but SotN did it better.

Granted, I came to SOTN over 15 years after it came out. But I felt like I got overleveled way too quickly, and the controls felt clunky. Still a great game though. That art-style still looks gorgeous today.